While diplomacy is working to prevent an escalation and while the US continues to speak of an "imminent attack" by Russia, war has already begun in Ukraine.
To be precise in the Donbass, where there are clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainians.
Russia also announced that tomorrow, under the supervision of President Vladimir Putin, it will carry out maneuvers of its "strategic forces", in particular with the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles.
All the news on the crisis live, minute by minute.
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18.50 - Draghi: "It is necessary to bring everyone to the same table"
"The interview was requested by Putin and the important thing is that the attitude of Italy, but also of other countries, is the unity of NATO which is without nuances. But alongside this it is important that there is a firm position in the face of the attack in Ukraine. Now to keep all the possibilities for dialogue open. The ambition is to bring everyone to the same table. We must do everything possible to make this happen ". Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this at a press conference after the CDM.
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18.30 - USA: "Civil evacuations a cynical maneuver by Moscow"
The US accuses Russia of maneuvering people with "cynicism" in the case of the evacuations of civilians from the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. "It is cynical and cruel to use humans as pawns to distract the world from the fact that Russia is preparing its troops for an attack," said a spokesman for the US State Department in Munich, where the Security Conference is held.
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6 pm - Explosion, at the moment "no victims are reported"
The entire city of Donetsk "felt the shock wave and the Minister for Emergency Situations went to the site of the explosion". This was reported by the Russian agency Interfax underlining that at the moment "no victims have been reported".
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Ukraine, Russian military on the border increases. Fighting in Donbass: "Strong explosion in Donetsk"
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5.30 pm - At 10 pm Biden speaks
Joe Biden will speak to local 16 (22 in Italy) to give "an update on our continuing efforts to pursue deterrence and diplomacy and on strengthening Russian troops on the Ukrainian border". This was announced by the White House.
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17.10 - Strong explosion in the center of Donetsk
A powerful explosion was reported in downtown Donetsk. This was reported by the correspondent of the Russian RIA Novosti. The explosion occurred near the government building of the pro-Russian separatists and was caused by a car bomb.
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4.49 pm - Lukashenko: "Nobody wants a war" - The President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has declared that a war would not be in the interest of either Russia or Belarus. The Interfax agency reports. "I would like to reiterate that not only does no one want a war, but not even a worsening of the situation or some conflict. We - the Russians and Belarusians, residing in the Russian Federation and Belarus, do not need it," said Lukashenko after meeting Putin in Moscow. .
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4.15 pm - The situation is getting worse in the Donbass
Also in Lugansk, as in Donetsk, the leaders of pro-Russian separatists have ordered civilians to evacuate to Russia in the context of the crisis in Ukraine.
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3.10 pm -Putin: “They will impose sanctions on us with an excuse - Vladimir Putin is convinced that sanctions against Russia in the context of the Ukrainian crisis will be imposed anyway and that Westerners will find" an excuse ". Tass reports it.
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2.30 pm - Donetsk, separatists order the evacuation of civilians
The leaders of the Donetsk separatists have ordered the evacuation of civilians to Russia. This was announced by the leaders of the self-proclaimed republic in south-east Ukraine.
The leader of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian separatist republic of Donetsk has announced the evacuation of civilians to Russia, accusing Kiev of preparing an invasion. "Today a massive and centralized departure of the population to the Russian Federation is organized, first of all women, children and the elderly must be evacuated," explained Denis Pushilin in a video posted on his Telegram account.
The Ukrainian army, the pro-Russians say, has opened fire against them 30 times since this morning.
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13.40 - USA: "Moscow has 190 thousand soldiers around Ukraine"
Russia has concentrated up to 190,000 troops "in and around" Ukraine, significantly more troops than previously known. This was stated by Michael Carpenter, US ambassador to the OSCE. "We estimate that Moscow has likely amassed between 169,000 and 190,000 in and around Ukraine compared to about 100,000 on January 30," Carpenter said.
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1 pm - Pope: "World champion in waging war, it's a shame"
"The world is a champion in warfare and this is a shame for everyone." The Pope said this in his meeting with the Eastern Churches. "We are attached to wars and this is tragic", said the Pontiff, recalling that "at this moment there are so many wars everywhere and the appeal" for peace launched by the Pope but also "by men and women of good will is unheard" .
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12.45 - At 20 the videocall with Biden
The videoconference to take stock of the Ukrainian crisis that US President Jose Biden will hold with European leaders, the NATO secretary general and the heads of EU institutions, according to what is learned, will be held tonight at 20 (Italian time). Among the leaders who will take part in the meeting will also be Prime Minister Mario Draghi, as well as Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz, the Polish Andrzey Duda and the President of Romania Klaus Johannis. For the EU, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Prime Minister Charles Michel will participate.
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12.35 - Lavrov: "Little progress with the US, promises are not enough"
The United States and Russia have made little progress on core security issues. This was stated by the Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, quoted by Tass. The head of Russian diplomacy, speaking of the upcoming meeting with Blinken in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, added that Moscow will clearly tell the US and NATO that it cannot be satisfied with "mere promises" on the issues that concern Russia about security.
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12.20 pm - GB: "We are ready for whatever Putin does"
The British government is "ready for whatever Vladimir Putin decides to do" with respect to the crisis in Ukraine. This was stated by Deputy Interior Minister Damian Hinds, who is in charge of the UK's national security portfolio.
"The inevitable truth is that there is this huge deployment of troops and military means on several sides on the border with Ukraine - he added - there is no sign of slowing down, let alone reversing. So we must be ready" . Hinds however recalled that "there is still a diplomatic path and we encourage President Putin to take it".
The deputy minister also stressed that an invasion of Ukraine "is not inevitable" but that it could happen "at any moment".
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11.40 am - Bombing in progress in the Donbass
Bombings are underway on the eastern front of Ukraine. The bombing was reported by reporters from the AFP news agency located near Stanytsia Luganska, a city in eastern Ukraine controlled by government forces. The city had already been hit yesterday by bombings that seriously damaged a nursery school.
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11.20 am - Kremlin "very worried" about clashes in the Donbass
The Kremlin today said it was "very worried" about the clashes in eastern Ukraine. "What is happening in the Donbass is very worrying and potentially very dangerous," Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring to the discounts between Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
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10.30 am - Kiev: "There are 149 thousand Russian soldiers at the border"
The number of Russian soldiers deployed on the borders of Ukraine has reached the threshold of 149 thousand: this was announced by the government of Kiev.
"We are looking at the Russian troop divisions, which number 129,000. And, together with the naval and air components, this figure reaches 149,000," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in a speech to Parliament.
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9.20 - Russia announces military exercises for tomorrow
Russia has announced that tomorrow, under the supervision of President Vladimir Putin, it will carry out maneuvers of its "strategic forces", in particular with the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles. "On February 19, under the leadership of the Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin, a planned exercise of the strategic deterrence forces will be organized," said the Ministry of Defense, quoted by Russian news agencies.
The maneuvers aim to verify the preparation of the military commands and the crews of the missile systems, of the warships and of the strategic bombers to carry out their missions, as well as to verify the reliability of the weapons of the nuclear and conventional strategic forces.
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9 am - Pro-Russian separatists denounce attacks
The pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed rebel republic of Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine, accused the government forces of attacking them again this morning with mortars.
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8.30 - Violations of the ceasefire in the Donbass
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced today that it has recorded 60 violations of the ceasefire by pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region in the past 24 hours. One soldier was injured, the ministry added, according to the Guardian.
